Hole Card Cam
Poker first appeared on TV in 1972. However before the hole card cam was used, people at home could see the players and their actions but had no idea what cards they were actually holding. Enter Henry Orenstein, the man behind the hole card cam and the game of poker changed forever.
Orenstein (1923-2021) was a Polish-born toymaker, entrepreneur, inventor, and professional poker player. In 1995, he introduced the hole card cam idea to his friend Mori Eskandani a TV producer for poker shows like “High Stakes Poker” and “Poker After Dark.”
The camera was first officially used in 1999, filming the UK’s "Late Night Poker" show. The show became a huge success and for the first time in televised poker history viewers could keep up with the action, knowing what cards the players were holding and what hands were folded.
Take a Peek
In 2002, ESPN decided to use the hole card camera for the 2003 WSOP Main Event, and is why Chris Moneymaker’s win had such a huge impact. It wasn’t just that he won, but seeing every big hand and every significant bluff throughout the tournament made it much easier for the average viewer to identify with the winner.
During this time, the WPT format was created featuring the WPT hole card cam with interactive graphics and a live sports feel. The first WPT episode aired on March 30, 2003, on the Travel Channel and became an instant success and the highest rated show in network history.
Today, you’ll notice that hole card cams are nowhere to be seen. One of the greatest inventions in the game’s history became obsolete. New technologies made it even easier and more convenient to read the players’ hole card information. Poker shows use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) cards, which have chips embedded into the cards. Tables are equipped with RFID readers, which capture this information and send it to production.
It’s safe to say that if it wasn’t for Henry Orenstein's hole card cam invention poker would never have become as popular as it is today.
Poker Origins